Tennis players or those participating in other strenuous athletic activites are often faced with a dilemma when selecting wearing apparel appropriate to the engaged-in activity. On the one hand, the rigors of sport, and in particular the stress on the participant's feet, demand that some sort of protective foot coverings or socks be worn together with athletic shoes in order to properly cushion the feet and to aid in removing the moisture of perspiration therefrom. On the other hand, aesthetic considerations or the need for circulatory stimulation and muscle support frequently dictate the use of some type of elastic panty hose or support hose as an undergarment. Heretofore, the only means for obtaining the advantages of both support hose and athletic foot gear has been for the participant to first don a support hose garment and then pull on athletic socks over the conventional foot portions of the support hose. This solution, however, has proven to be highly unsatisfactory inasmuch as the synthetic fiber material from which most support hose are made tends to slip relative to the heavier yarn or wool threads of the athletic socks. Consequently, a person wearing athletic socks over the foot portions of conventional support hose risks severe blistering of the feet and serious injury from falls while executing the rapid movements normally associated with most athletic activity. Moreover, the synthetic fibers of support hose have notoriously poor moisture transmitting characteristics, and perspiration tends to collect between the fibers and the feet of a person wearing socks over the foot portions of the hose. It can thus be seen that any garment seeking to combine the leg support, circulatory stimulation and aesthetic appeal of elastic support hose with the protection and comfort of athletic socks must avoid the above-mentioned disadvantages if it is to serve as a truly practical, desirable and beneficial alternative to the wearing of conventional garb.
The prior art discloses numerous examples of stockings or panty hose-type clothing wherein the foot sections of the stockings are modified to provide special wearing qualities or features. For instance, it is well known to employ reinforcing material in the construction of the heel or lower foot sections of hoisery, as evidenced by U.S. Pat. No. 1,227,217, issued to Taylor on May 22, 1917; U.S. Pat. No. 1,534,763, issued to Bosworth on Oct. 14, 1922; U.S. Pat. No. 2,617,992, issued to Bean on Nov. 18, 1952; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,212,103, issued to Goodman on Oct. 19, 1965. The teachings of Taylor ('217) are representative of such reinforcing construction. In Taylor ('217), under foot, toe and heel sections comprised of yarn are joined along a nonthickened seam to upper foot and leg sections comprised of silk fabric to produce a finished stocking resistant both to wear occasioned by friction between the bottom of the wearer's feet and the wearer's shoes and to unravelling of the upper foot sections occasioned by broken threads. Although furnishing an article suited to the purposes for which it was intended, Taylor ('217) nevertheless fails to satisfy the additional constraints imposed upon apparel designed to provide protection, support, comfort and aesthetic appeal for the wearer involved in strenuous physical activity. The silk fabric of Taylor's upper foot portion is incapable of passing perspiration to the air, and instead presents a slippery, nonporous and noncompressible surface to the uppers of the wearer's shoes. Nor does Taylor's yarn heel section extend far enough up the leg of the wearer to cushion and protect the critical area surrounding the wearer's ankle. Accordingly, Taylor ('217) does not remedy any of the deficiencies associated with the previous practice of wearing athletic socks over conventional support-type hose.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,162,820, issued to Taylor on Dec. 7, 1915, teaches a stocking-type garment wherein the leg and foot portions are formed of different materials. However the Taylor ('820) stocking forms the foot portion of a high grade, slippery, non-absorbent, non-protective material, such as silk, and the leg portion of a non-muscle supporting, non-circulatory stimulating material, such as cotton. Thus, Taylor ('820) teaches a stocking type garment which is, in construction and purpose, directly opposite to the sort of garment needed by participants in athletic activities in that its foot portion has a tendency to slip and has notoriously poor moisture transmitting characteristics and its leg portion formed of cotton provides neither muscular nor circulatory stimulation.
Other prior art disclosures contain additional teachings relevant to the arrangement and manufacture of specialized foot sections for stockings. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 319,131, issued to Ryer on June 2, 1885, illustrates a foot section releasably secured to the leg section of a stocking such that the foot section may be removed and replaced by a new foot section when soiled or worn beyond use. Unfortunately, Ryer does not assist an athletic participant in solving the problem of how to combine the muscle supporting and circulation stimulating features of elastic fibers with the protective quality and transpirational cooling capacity of heavy yarn. The releasable structure of Ryer's foot section is utterly impractical from the point of view of apparel designed to be worn during an athletic game such as tennis. The fastening bands and buttons utilized in Ryer would be subject to large tensile forces as the wearer's foot moves from position to position and would soon be torn away from the leg section of the stocking. Similarly, the unjoined areas adjacent the ends of the foot and leg sections in Ryer would pull away from one another in response to vigorous motion, leading to a reduction in the supporting capacity of the leg section and a decidedly unaesthetic appearance for the stocking as a whole.
Uniform stitching between the leg, calf, knee, thigh and waist portions of a pair of drawers or tights is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 256,532, issued to Appleton on Apr. 18, 1882. The limitations of Ryer, however, are not overcome by the Appleton reference, in view of the fact that Appleton merely rearranges his knitting pattern from section to section and fails to teach either the functional necessity or the structural means for varying the characteristics and composition of the fibers employed in each section. As a net result, the prior art fails to adequately address the need for a durable, inexpensive and conveniently manufactured combination atheltic sock/support hose undergarment which may be safely and comfortably worn by individuals engaged in athletic activity.